The parking lot was virtually empty Wednesday at the Bridgeport Marshalls store on Main Street, as a representative of the retailer turned away one customer after another.

"It was confusing and I didn't know what was going on," said Najaa Todd, of Bridgeport, who had come to buy a new outfit for an out-of-state college visit.

"When I learned about safety issues here at the store, I was really surprised," Todd said.

The business was shut down Wednesday morning due to concerns about "a potential roof collapse," said Bridgeport Fire Chief Lance Edwards.

Edwards said the safety concerns stemmed from "structural issues with both the roof and exterior walls."

"I do know that the building will remain closed until the repairs are complete and at that point, structural engineers as well as the building official will conduct an inspection before it's opened back up to the public," he said.

Marshalls issued a statement apologizing for the inconvenience and directed customers to other nearby Marshalls stores.

"We have temporarily closed this location until our landlord assesses the issue," the statement said.

News 12 reached out to the New York-based owner of the property, who did not immediately respond.